Chip supplier Besi suffered from lower demand for computer chips in the first quarter of this year. Shipments of chips for the automotive industry also fell compared to the end of last year and demand from Chinese companies remained weak. This led to less turnover and new orders for the company from Duiven, which supplies technology for placing chips on printed circuit boards and makes packaging for the very vulnerable chips. “There is overcapacity,” says CEO Richard Blickman.
Turnover in the first quarter amounted to 133.4 million euros, more than 3 percent less than at the end of 2022. Compared to the first quarter of last year, turnover even fell by more than a third. Orders for 142 million euros were received, partly because the market for mobile telephones is also weaker than expected. In the car segment, Besi won a sizeable order after the end of the quarter, which led to satisfaction with CEO Richard Blickman.
‘The semiconductor industry by definition is cyclical, whether you want to believe it or not. We are now in a cyclical trough in 2023 and that means there is simply overcapacity in many areas,” says CEO Richard Blickman. ‘And that first has to be eaten up a bit, and then we go up again for another round.’
Below the line a profit of 34.5 million euros remained. At the end of last year, Besi made a profit of 40.2 million euros. Earnings this quarter were higher than in the closing quarter of 2022 when expenses for employee compensation in shares were excluded due to cost savings, favorable exchange rates and increased demand for higher-end products. Then the profit margin, ie the percentage per sale that is profit, had also increased.
‘There is overcapacity in many areas’
Blickman indicates that the chip sector will also be in a dip this quarter, but compared to the same period in 2019, when the chip sector also performed less well, Besi is in better shape. According to the CEO, analysts also expect that the demand for chips will pick up again from the second half of this year.
Besi is already counting on between 15 and 25 percent more turnover in the second quarter. The company also thinks it will spend less money on operational costs.
